My take on “To Kill a Mockingbird”

When “Go Set A Watchman” came out, I bought it on kindle immediately, not wanting to wait to read it. Then I realized that I vaguely remembered “To Kill a Mockingbird.” So I decided to read it again. As I begun to read it, it seemed like I actually didn’t remember most of it. So I read it like it was the first time.

Now, I know why I don’t remember it. What the book represents isn’t something I understood back then. I was a naïve teenager, sheltered from most complicated relationships. My idea of prejudice was so limited. I never thought about how people see each other differently. Why race or gender or even religion even mattered to the extent that you would shun a person. At the time, friends were friends. Money didn’t matter, status didn’t matter and neither did the color of your skin. What did matter was how many games we could play before sundown. Life was simple back then, so a story like this, while touching, was not relatable.

In today’s world, more than ever, this book is so relevant. We’ve come such a long way from the times in the book but, basic human nature hasn’t changed. We are still so quick to judge others and believe in stereotypes. I’m ashamed to say that I’m not above this either. As much as I would like to believe that I have an open mind, I’m prone to stereotyping as well. I do try to correct myself when I realize it and I always try to give people a fair chance.

But, in essence, I realize that the world seems to be regressing or just hasn’t changed at all. Where skin color was once an issue, religion has now taken it’s place. Funnily, gender issues stay the same, so may be women have always had it the toughest. But, that’s a topic for a different post.

People were and continue to be persecuted for being different, for not being elite and worst of all for even trying to break out of what is deemed their social stature.